We share with you today, Maya's and Riley's stories to offer a glimpse of
the more than 26,000 children, individuals and families we support each year.

Maya’s story

Little Maya just wants to feel safe this Christmas.
Will you help her?

For seven-year-old Maya, the best Christmas present is for her mum Asha to find safety from harm. She can’t forget her father’s terrifying attack on her mum in their home.

When Asha, Maya and her five siblings finally relocated to safety they left behind most of their belongings. Not only did they need everyday essentials, two of Maya’s siblings also needed further care and support for autism and an acquired brain injury.

“We really had nothing and we were sleeping on mattresses,” says Asha.

Timely support like yours made all the
difference to Maya and her family.

We helped Maya’s family relocate to safety by organising an intervention order and providing moving assistance and vouchers for essential household items.

We also provided trauma counselling for the family and helped Maya’s brother receive an autism diagnosis, allowing him to access vital and urgent support.

"I hate to think where we would be now without Windermere. There would not have been a Christmas,” says Asha

Riley’s story

Young Riley has severe autism and lives with trauma. She needs your help.

After experiencing abuse and neglect due to their mum’s substance use, Riley age 8 and her sister Amy age 3 rely on their dad Luke to care for them.

Luke desperately wants to be the father his children deserve but a brain injury has left him with no short-term memory and he struggles to remember routine tasks like paying bills on time. Unable to work due to low literacy and the constant care Riley needs from him, his finances are spiralling out of control.

Luke knows that he can’t do it alone.

With your generosity we can help parents like Luke receive the right supports.

We offered Riley occupational therapy to help her learn to dress and wash herself and speech therapy to help with swallowing and chewing. We gave Luke a range of practical skills so that he could help Riley and Amy deal with their emotional trauma, develop routines and manage his finances.

“Windermere showed me I really was the dad my kids needed,” says Luke.

*Details have been changed to protect privacy.

Your generosity can mean life changing support for children like Maya and Riley.

Will you help families in crisis live with dignity this Christmas?